


Spec Shots and Spirits

by Glowstickia



Series: Gasoline Believer [3]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, original spirit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 02:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowstickia/pseuds/Glowstickia
Summary: Prompt time again! This time: Isabel trains Max as a spirit watches from above.





	Spec Shots and Spirits

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back!

Max watched as another Spec Shot rolled off his index finger and plopped onto the ground. Isabel tapped the new addition of spectral goop with her foot.

“You know,” she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, “maybe we should move onto something else.”

He sighed. “Please,” his eyes stared at the egg sack looking blobs of black energy slowly sink into the earth, “who knows how bad I’ve disrupt the spectosystem.”

Isabel waved it off. “Psh, you probably fed a few small spirits.” She beckoned him to follow as she turned away. “Nothing to worry about anyhow. C’mon let’s try something else on ground not covered in spec snot.”

Max shook his head as he stepped over the fallen goop and followed her. “That was bad and you know it.” She laughed.

As they left and their voices grew faint, a black shadow from the trees dropped to the ground. Its long, spindly fingers reached out and plucked a spec shot sac from the grass. A thin coil unraveled from where a mouth should be and poked the black energy. It slurped, draining, devouring the spectral snack. The creature continued plucking the fruits of the kid’s practice from the ground until none remained. It stood tall. Black energy flowed from its shoulder as its compound purple eyes looked to where the kids walked off to.

\- - - - - -

“Now close your eyes and focus.”

Max did as instructed. His arm outstretched with his hand curled slightly. Black energy moved from his shoulders to his arm.

Isabel nodded. “That’s it.” She twirled her spectral sword as she watched his eyebrows twitch. “Think about swordplay, how you played imagine as a kid with sticks.”

His forehead scrunched as he forced his energy to his hand again. He pushed. Thinking of days when he fought to protect the front yard from evil ogres and cackling witches. When he built a fort and challenged any who dared come close without provisions of lemonade and cookies. When his mom-. His eyes shot open and the bit of energy he had managed to form around his hand immediately began rolling off his shoulders again.

Isabel’s red energy sword dissipated as her eyes scanned his face. “Max?”

He immediately wiped away the pooling tears with the back of his hand. “’m fine.” He coughed and blinked a few times.

Isabel’s lips thinned, not buying it for a minute, but stayed silent.

Max took a deep breath and exhaled. He stared at her, eyebrow raised. “Okay, okay, I’ll try again.”

“Max...” she looked up at the sky. The blue hues were shifting to yellows and pinks. “Why don’t we give it a rest.” she gestured to the sky, “It’s getting late and we’ve practiced enough for today.”

He sniffed and coughed. “Yeah, uh, sounds good.”

She watched him pick up his bat. The black energy continued to roll off his shoulders. “Do...do you want to talk about it?”

Max paused as he stared at his bat. “Well-” His face dropped. Eyes widened. He dove forward. Rolled. Steadied himself on his knees next to Isabel. Just as he turned, Isabel already fired off a couple red spec shots.

"So, uh, moth-birds." Max laughed nervously, "why do they always gotta look different from each other." He took a step to the side. Black energy rolled to his index finger as he shot it up. It didn't go far until-WHAM. Home run.  
  
Isabel beamed at him. "You maybe new to this, but you sure are resourceful."  
  
The moth-bird-thing paused in the air as the black energy zoomed towards it. It's mouth coil unfurled, poking the shot midair and drank it quickly.  
  
They stared at it, caught off-guard.  
  
"Disgusting."  
  
"Well, that's new."

It zoomed forward. Isabel fired. Max dove.  
  
It dodge. Max pulled. Isabel fell.  
  
It missed.

From the ground, Isabel rolled over. Red energy swirled at her fingertips. Fire.  
  
They say flies have a blind spot, right behind their head between those two large, compound, eyes.

It dropped to the ground and laid twitching, but showed no effort of getting up.  
  
Isabel sat up and brushed herself off.  
  
Max rolled over before he too sat up. "Well, that happened."  
  
Isabel stared at the spirit. It's black energy curled off it like smoke from a distant campfire. "I think, I know why it attacked." She stood and strolled over to the moth-bird spirit.  
  
Max's lips thinned as he hummed. He rolled his eyes and used his bat to help himself up. "Well, are you gonna share with the rest of the class?"

Isabel tapped her chin with her finger. She lightly kicked the spirit. It twitched. It's coil mouth uncurled and re-curled. "Max," she said turning to him as he approached, "gimme one of your spec shots."  
  
He stared at her, blankly. "Uh, what?"  
  
She held out her hand. "I want to test something."  
  
He shrugged and with practiced ease, created the ball of black energy. It rolled off his finger and into her spectral baseball mitt.  
  
She sat down on her knees and moved the black energy towards the spirit's coil mouth. It's head twitched. The coil unfurled, sticking its straw like mouth into the spec shot and sipped at it.

It sat up. Max jumped back. Isabel held up her hand towards him.

She smiled at the spirit. "Listen, I know you're hungry, but could you not attack spectrals-" she gestured between her and Max, "like us. We can help!"  
  
It buzzed.  
  
"I've been teaching him-" she thumbed to Max, "How to create those tasty snacks you've been slurping on."  
  
"Don't tell it that." Max mumbled.  
  
She ignored him. "If you want some more of them, we want to practice around here. You can snack on them after our practices so long as you don't come out and jump us again okay?"

  
It nodded, slowly.  
  
She beamed. "Good!" She held out her hand. It's thin fingers curled around hers. They shook.  
  
Max grimaced as Isabel helped the spirit to it's bird talon feet. "So, uh, we good here?" It held out it's hand to Max. He sucked in his lips. Isabel watched him expectantly. "Al-alright." They shook.  
  
The spirit beamed. Or, they think it did. Facial features of a moth were harder to read. It's wings flapped as it took to the skies and flew off, into the forest.  
  
Isabel dusted off her hands. "That wasn't so bad."  
  
Max looked to the sky. Stars were starting to come out. "Yeah, well, if either of us wanna make curfew we better rush back."  
  
She glanced at him as he glanced at her. "Race ya?" Before Max could agree or object, Isabel was off like a shot. He ran after her.  
  
"Cheater!"  
  
"Am not!"

**Author's Note:**

> The moth-emu spirit thing STRIKES AGAIN!!! I swear its almost as though there is a nest of them or something haha. This spirit pops up a few different times, usually with Max around and is the bane of his existence. It's just a bit of an on-going joke..think you can find where this kind o spirit pops up?


End file.
